Tesla sets sights on freight emissions with new electric truck…

Could this be the electric truck the world has been waiting for? Plus, Tesla’s surprise new sports car

The world’s best-known electric vehicle company Tesla has finally revealed the zero-emission vehicle it hopes will make the major inroads into the commercial freight market, unveiling its first electric truck in Los Angeles yesterday.

The Tesla Semi won’t go into production until 2019, but Tesla founder Elon Musk said the lorry will be cheaper to run than a diesel alternative and will travel up to 500 miles at maximum weight at motorway speeds.

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And in a surprise announcement, Musk also used the event to reveal a new sports car he claimed would be the “fastest production car ever” made. The new Roadster – a revamp of the original Tesla roadster launched in 2008 – can travel 620 miles on a single charge and has a top speed of 250 miles an hour. Commercial production is planned to start in 2020.

He said the launch of the new supercar was designed to act as a “hardcore smackdown” to gasoline cars. “Driving a gasoline sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche,” he told the audience.

https://t.co/0rBaJNQrum pic.twitter.com/pyoDmOj4XC

— Tesla (@Tesla) November 17, 2017

Although no prices for the Roadster or Tesla Semi were announced, Musk was at pains to stress the both the performance and economic benefits of the vehicles.

He said the Tesla Semi truck boasts faster acceleration, better uphill performance and smart safety features such as lane-keeping technology and enhanced autopilot software to improve the on-road experience for truck drivers.

View from the cockpit pic.twitter.com/2kBupEXNM5

— Tesla (@Tesla) November 17, 2017

He added that the overall cost of ownership for the truck would be 20 per cent less per mile than its diesel equivalents, concluding that it would be “economic suicide” for truck companies to continue using diesels.

Just like it has built a global network of “superchargers” for its passenger EVs, Tesla plans to build a network of “megachargers” around the world for trucks refuelling on the go, with the powerful plugs able to deliver 400 miles of charge in less than 30 minutes.

If it lives up to expectations the truck could be a critical moment for the freight industry, which has been struggling to find a commercially viable way to decarbonise its emissions.

But the triumphant launch event was tinged by the knowledge that Tesla’s grand ambitions do not always deliver in reality. Its first mass-market EV, the Model 3, is way behind on its delivery schedule, with just 260 finished during the third quarter of 2017 compared to the 1,500 originally promised.